The Ukiah Wildcats's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their third straight loss. They took a 53-45 hit to the loss column at the hands of Santa Rosa. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Ukiah came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 107th, while Santa Rosa is ranked 431st).
Defeat or not, Ukiah got some senior leadership from Emery Mathis who scored 16 points and Tony Zacarias who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and four steals. That's the first time this season that Mathis scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jonah Koeppel, who scored five points along with three steals.
It was another big night for Elijah Hansen, who scored 26 points along with five rebounds for Santa Rosa. Hansen continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Gabe Airoldi, who scored 12 points.
Ukiah's defeat dropped their record down to 11-5. As for Santa Rosa, the victory got them back to even at 7-7.
Ukiah will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against St. Vincent de Paul at 7:30 p.m. on January 5th. Santa Rosa and Windsor will face off at 7:30 p.m. on January 3rd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday.
